Xero Reviews

Positives

Great mobile app

Affordable pricing

Responsive customer support

Over 400 third-party apps

Negatives

Payroll support could be better

Xero is a progressive and innovative online accounting solution that enables you to manage your accounts more effectively and make your accounting hassle-free. Some of its features include invoicing and quotes, bank reconciliation, inventory, mobile capability, third-party apps, purchase orders and payroll. The mobile version of the software, Xero Touch, makes it possible to access all your accounting data instantly from wherever you may be. Xero integrates and works well with many other third-party applications (such as advanced solutions for CRM, point-of-sale, e-commerce and more). You have a choice of three pricing plans – Starter, Standard and Premium – all of which have slightly different features and a reduced price for the first six months. Xero also provides a 30-day free trial. Customers enjoy efficient and reliable support from Xero online teams. Xero’s US headquarters is in San Francisco, but this publicly listed company’s products are used in over 180 countries. The company has garnered impressive experience in the area of cloud computing and accounting and has continued to innovate and create new products for the market.

Video Introduction to Xero

Accounting Features

Xero has a number of accounting features to help your organization, your employees and you achieve accurate results efficiently and effectively. Invoicing is a feature that accelerates payment by ensuring that you can prepare relevant invoices in a timely manner. Xero works with various online payment companies to make it easy for your clients to pay. It also detects and notifies you when an invoice has been opened. Automatic bank reconciliation is assured if you use Xero. When linked with your bank account, your transactions appear in your Xero account daily and can be reconciled at the click of a button. Xero boasts accounting inventory management that monitors the worth of your business deals and boosts stock control.

Modern business has gone mobile and Xero has not been left behind. You can download Xero Touch and manage reconciliation, receipts, invoices, expenses and other aspects of your business wherever you are. Moreover, Xero has a marketplace full of add-on business applications to synchronize with your accounting system to manage data efficiently. For example, there are customized programs for invoicing, inventory management and time-tracking to name a few features. These include Squarespace for eCommerce, Stich Labs for eCommerce and inventory, Deputy for payroll and HR, and WorkflowMax for invoicing, jobs and time tracking.

Purchase Orders

Another important Xero feature is purchase orders. This is the easiest strategy for developing entirely customizable purchase orders, sending them by email to the supplier and – when payment time arrives – posting them to a bill.

Expense Management

Xero comes with a feature for managing expense claims, an aspect of business that you cannot avoid. Often, you will find yourself making some expenditure on behalf of the company and your workers may do so, too. This aspect of the software allows you to reimburse such payments, and you don’t have to be in the office to do this since mobile devices fitted with a pertinent app will suffice.

Payroll & Tax Returns

As a Xero user, you also benefit from seamless payroll software and internet-based accounting. Mechanical data entry can result in numerous calculation mistakes and this feature deals with such problems. Moreover, you track all the federal and state payroll taxes, with all information being updated automatically in your overall ledger.

Collaboration

All these features allow you and your team to work from multiple locations. Your accountant or bookkeeper have an easier time maintaining records and this creates efficiency and effectiveness. Xero also enables you to prepare 1099s and export to your preferred tax software.

Mobile

Any entrepreneur understands the need to stay in touch with their business at all times. Mobile technology has evolved with time and Xero ensures that you can continue with normal accounting activities through your mobile devices while at home or on the go. The status of your accounts and bank reconciliations are on your palm because all you have to do is use the Xero mobile app.

Xero Touch is a mobile app for Android phones and iOS devices. You can use it to reconcile, dispatch invoices and make expense claims. You can continue monitoring your business and getting up-to-date reports without bothering to call your bookkeepers and accountants constantly. There are other third-party apps that work well with Xero. A short list includes Vend, Evernote by Zapier, WorkflowMax, Harvest, Red Arc Systems, MRPEasy, Volusion by Vextras and Ranqx. Just synchronize these apps with your system to increase Xero’s capability for delivering desired accounting results.

DashboardBank ReconciliationInvoices

Dashboard

Bank Reconciliation

Invoices

Integrations & Extra Services

Xero integrates well with various third-party applications to complement the software and service further:

Evernote by Zapier is very efficient in creating documents. All you have to do is integrate Evernote with Zapier and Xero to generate invoices from new notes. Alternatively, you can generate notes from invoices.

Vend is a point-of-sale and inventory program which is popular with retailers. This program can be used online, just like Xero. There’s nothing to install and you can use it on any computer.

Expensify generates bills and deals with expenses. Do you need expense reports that you enjoy reading? Simply synchronize the financial data in your inventory and orders directly from your commerce networks using Xero.

Stitch Labs is very effective when used for eCommerce and inventory management. You need Stitch Labs to automatically synchronize your financial information – such as inventory and orders – from all your networks using Xero.

Red Arc Systems is custom-made integration software. You can connect message queues and databases with Xero and enjoy the experience.

Volusion by Vextras is especially good for eCommerce businesses. If you want to create invoices and overcome mechanical entry with real-time data, then use the combination of these two programs.

Ranqx is essential for reporting and business intelligence purposes, especially when combined with Xero.

Pricing

Compared to other companies in the market, Xero has a very fair pricing structure without hidden costs or surprises, which you can use to your advantage by changing or cancelling the chosen plan at any time. There are three main pricing structures: the Starter plan goes for just $9 per month; the Standard one, which is the most popular, is $30; and the Premium plan which has all features of the Starter and Standard plans, plus payroll for up to 10 employees, costs $70 per month. However, you only have to pay the above prices later as you receive 30% off for six months. Moreover, there is a free trial that runs for 30 days for those who want to use the product first before deciding to subscribe to it.

Notes

The Standard plan can run a payroll for up to 5 employees, but cannot deal with multiple currencies.

The Starter plan has all other features except that it does not come with payroll, does not have federal or state e-file or e-pay, has no payroll direct deposits and checks, and cannot handle multiple currencies.

If you want to purchase any of the plans, before or after using the trial version, you can use your credit or debit card or even online payment methods like PayPal.

Customer Service

Xero offers various facilities and services for its customers to ensure they understand how to use the program and that they derive maximum benefit from it. To begin, there is an online guide for clients to refer to at any time. There is a Xero community where user interact and share their experiences with the software. More importantly, Xero offers developer API support, including documentation and community discussion. The company has financial advisors who specialize in Xero, waiting to help you with your accounting needs. On the Xero website, you also find informative and detailed video guides on all features and product functionalities. Finally, you enjoy local training courses and webinars meant for Xero users wherever they are. The company has offices in the US, UK, Australia and New Zealand and can be reached through its website and email.

Bottom Line

Xero is unique and innovative cloud accounting software that enables users to grow their businesses in a contemporary setting. It has nine crucial features that make it one of the best accounting software products. Using this program helps eliminate chances of calculation errors which are common when entering data manually. As the owner of a business, you don’t need to worry about so many aspects of your accounts because you can access them by simply logging into the system. In addition, there is a Xero mobile app available on Android phones and iOS devices. The mobile version, Xero Touch, is compatible with many third-party add-ons that enhance the capabilities of Xero. On pricing, there is an affordable set of plans to choose from plus you get 30% off for the first six months of use. If you want to try out Xero before subscribing to it, there is a 30-day trial version available.